1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seating apparatus and, more particularly, to a marine seating apparatus that is convertible between a bench-type seat configuration and a lounge-type seat configuration.
2. Description of Related Art
Trends in the recreational boating industry include an emphasis on more family oriented pleasure craft designs. As a result of these trends, pontoon boats have experienced increased popularity. A pontoon boat is a small pleasure craft having a deck supported by two or three pontoons mounted lengthwise. Among the advantages of pontoon boats are their stability, ownership economics, maximized deck space, and versatile deck configurations. Pontoon boats have become a popular choice for those wishing to carry multiple people for entertaining, lounging, and enjoying the outdoors.
As with all recreational boats, however, pontoon boats have a limited amount of deck space in which to accommodate seating. Accordingly, the challenge facing boat designers is to make efficient use of the space available so as to maximize both seating occupancy as well as comfort. The competing demands associated with entertaining verses lounging activities have presented significant challenges to marine vessel designers. For example, when entertaining a seating configuration that maximizes seating occupancy at the bow and stern, while maintaining ample floor space such that occupants can move freely about the boat, is desired. When lounging, however, lounge seating configurations, which allow fewer occupants to lounge in positions facing forward (bow) or rearward (stern), are desired. Conventional seating arrangements for recreational boats, and particularly pontoon boats, have failed to adequately provide seating options to satisfy these competing demands.
The background art reveals a number of attempts to provide convertible seating in a variety of environments. U.S. Pat. No. 244,330, issued to Snyder in 1881, discloses a lounge having a back that can be raised up and folded over to form a bed without disturbing the position of any other portion of the lounger. U.S. Pat. No. 2,069,604, issued to Elliman, discloses an article of furniture which is convertible from a couch or sofa configuration with a back rest, to a bed by pivotal downward movement of the back rest. U.S. Pat. No. 3,379,471, issued to Dalziel, discloses converting oppositely facing chairs into a lounge. One significant problem with the apparatus disclosed by Dalziel, however, is that it is not suitable for use with pontoon boats due to the requirement for oppositely facing chairs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,752, issued to Dick et al., discloses a convertible article of furniture presenting a loveseat or couch in on arrangement and a day bed in the other by movement of the back rest and an arm rest. U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,586, issued to Park, discloses a seating structure equipped with a retractable armrest movable between a first position, in which the armrest is positioned on a lateral side of the seat in an upright manner, and a second position, in which the armrest is positioned in a space below the seat. U.S. Pat. No. 7,134,727, issued to Williams, discloses a sofa having an arm assembly that may be converted to a back rest to allow a person to sit crosswise, and a lower front panel that may be configured to act as an armrest for a person sitting crosswise. One disadvantage present with the sofa disclosed by Williams, however, is that when configured as a lounge, the remaining portion of the sofa backrest is high and thus significantly limits visibility when sitting in the lounging position.
The convertible seating disclosures of the background art fail to adequately address the need in the art pontoon boat seating. Accordingly, there exists a need for a pontoon boat seat that is convertible from a standard bench-style configuration capable of accommodating multiple occupants to a lounger that allows a single occupant to comfortably lounge without impeding into the available deck space.